A Rattling Monster

Chapter 23: The hunters in the forest

About the no matter what I will destroy the fairies, just forget it. I mean they are really peaceful creatures, I shouldn't bother them with my destruction and pain. Yeah, we shall all live in peace and harmony for the rest of our lives. And they really don't need to know that I killed that little fairy. It's useless information anyway. And I destroyed her body when I activated my Aura so no proof. Shame that I didn't get to see if eating her was good but, can't be better than a lich. One was killed in seconds just because I wanted that, the other managed to survive a little bit against the seven adventurers. And, about that peace speech. Well, if your village is guarded by what looks like a freakin dragon, I guess you will be without worries.

I think it's a dragon. I know there is a lot of differences between drake, dragon, wyvern, and others. But I can't remember the details. So he has 2 arms and 2 legs, and his wings are attached to his arms. So that is not a dragon now that I think about it. But it's what, a drake? A wyvern? Something else. Let's go for a drake and if I failed well, not that important. I just don't need to meet an expert on this subject that will complain about how foolish I am to mistake this from that other thing. But in this world, who can be an expert about such a subject? Besides, dragon themselves, and dragon slayers. So a lot of dangerous people that I will never talk with.

I was planning to just spread my disease and leave but that threat is too big. Based on my knowledge, a dragon is highly sensitive toward magic. So if he smells my spell, then saw all his poor fairies friends die, he will chase me. Not a good thing. So let's go back in the forest. To kill the animals, to save the frames.

Now that I have evolved, my spell consumption has been greatly reduced. I can just walk, do a simple [Create Disease], walk for ten minutes, do it again and that for more than 90 minutes. After I still need to wait 10 hours but it is still very efficient to cover large areas. After traveling for 3 days, I level up my spell to level 6 and [Plague Bearer] to level 4, just one level behind my poisonous body. And as I walked, I could the dead bodies of countless animals. I really think that this forest was protected by the fairies and since the drake guard them, no one entered it. Maybe they are searching for me. They probably are. Well, let's keep going to the East.

How many drakes does this forest have? During a week, I have seen 3 more little fairy town and inside 2 drakes. One was just a few buildings in the trees compared to the other with at least hundreds of houses, so that explains the lack of drake. But why did they come here in the first place? What's good for them? Do the fairies feed them? That really puzzled me. For me, a dragon or whatever like two things. Steal gold from the dwarves, and have cooked meat. But I never saw a single coin inside the forest. And never saw the drake hunting for animals. So that means, they are after something else. But what?

After many days, I finally encounter something else than dead bodies or fairies. A group of humans. And the good kind of humans. Sadist, violent and criminal bandits. At least for me, that's good. Because if they are gone missing, no one will look for them. But they look highly trained, not the standard bandit that die from one hit of a guard. No, they are professionals. But what could be so interesting that nearly 30 veterans are required? Besides fairies, and the drakes. I think it is for the drakes. Yeah, I see big crossbows, the one that you have to assemble before using it, I think it is called either a ballista or a scorpio. Iron nets, large iron shields, and weird scrolls. I guess they have planned the counter-attack and this will be used to counter the weapons of the drake.

I wonder what should I do? Kill them since they won't expect either my poison or my disease. Or wait for the death of the drake to see what the fairies are hiding. That is only if they managed to kill it. Because I can see on their faces the stress of the operation. It is not assured that everyone is going home after it. Now that I notice, they don't look particularly on guard against spies or surprise attacks but none of them has spotted me. I now that I am at more than dozens of meters but I guess my [Sneaky-Sneaky] are really effective. That is probably my best spell but the most discrete of all.

The sun is falling, they won't dare to attack a drake that can fly in the middle of the night. They will rest and when they see the first rays of the sun, attack. I should just recover my mana. Or probe a little. See if I can kill someone. If I manage to poison and kill one of them, I know that I will not fear anything. But if I try to attack after the death of the drake, and fail, I will really be screwed. Probing is good.

Now, who is the unlucky bandit that want to go into a peaceful location? For natural need. C'mon. You, yes, you, who are the sentinel, you will probably be replaced soon. You don't feel that you need to do something before going to sleep? No? Seriously, no one. Well, I don't know how it works actually. For me, I don't need anything, no food, no drink, no rest. But maybe they evolved too, they improved their bodies, tempering it with mana or potion. So maybe, they need less rest than the people on Earth. I mean, I don't think that the dwarves, the elves, and the humans have the same body type or body needs. But if it is the case, my plan is a failure.

And yes it was. No one left alone, one time there was a group of five, leaving in a pack, watching the surrounding, but otherwise no lone wolf. So my attack will be completely up to fate. Fate, that I am stronger than them. But at least I going to enjoy a nice spectacle.

The vicious bandit attack on the guardian drake. New tragedy coming in your town in a close future. Don't worry, the tickets are free. But like I thought yesterday, they are really prepared. From what I know, they are currently at 1 kilometer of the village. It is here that they are fortifying their defenses and assembling the siege weapons. They are constructed in a circular arc. So if the drake comes from the village, everyone will be able to fire at him. And the disposition of the weapons makes it impossible to burn them in a single flame. Some are close, some are far. Each has a shield with a little window in front of it. There is a weird substance of those shields, probably to prevent it to burn. I see 3 weird grappling hooks. I am fairly certain that they will use it to restrain the wings of the drake.

Honestly, if that operation failed, it is really because the drake is powerful. And by powerful, I mean more powerful than everyone in this world. Nothing is left in uncertainty. They have the damage, the defense, the trapping system. The only thing I don't see is the bait. What will bring the drake to this location? Except that, I will give them a full mark on the hunt. It looks like they are only 25 now. I guess a few of them have gone to the village. And what can they possibly do to make the

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

An explosion. Didn't see that coming. But from what I hear, if that didn't destroy half of the fairy town, I am not a ratman named Sleek.

GWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAARRGH!

That should be the drake. So I guess I know how they going to bring him here. By killing his little friends, their village and possibly hurt him. I think he is pretty angry right now. And if he is angry, he will not think of why a little group of human will be stupid enough to piss him off. He will just chase them without waiting. But for the expendables that were sent to do this, I really am praying for you. Because between a human running in a forest and a drake, yes, yes I see him flying right now. And oh, I think he just grabbed a human in his claws. And he breath fire on at least another one. But the distance is reduced, and he is in the range of the first ballista. Looks like the real battle will start now.